Concerns art installation could disturb skeletons at former burial ground

Plans have been approved to build a 15m-long “sculptural walkway and garden” at The Springs, in Wakefield city centre.

The work, called The Source, will be the last of five sculptures be put in place as part of a £1m government-funded art trail for the city.

The work was due to be completed in September last year but the planning application was delayed.

West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service (WYAAS) said there was a possibility of graves being disturbed during during the installation.

The site was used as a burial ground from 1747 to 1888.

Public Record Office documents indicate that it was supposed to have been cleared of graves in 1939 when a road widening scheme was carried out.

However, in 2013, a skeleton was found in a “decayed wooden coffin” within a burial vault by Wakefield Council staff as they installed new street lighting.

A report by Glyn, a WYAAS senior archaeological officer, said: “A plaque on the coffin was dated 1819.

“The Georgian burial vault contained an engraved plaque which indicated a mother and three sons were buried in the vault, although no skeletal remains were found of the infants mentioned on the plaque.”

The skeleton was removed and re-interred in Wakefield Cemetery, on Sugar Lane.

Mr Davies added: “The fact that there was a vault with a coffin inside demonstrates that the cemetery was not fully cleared.

“There is the potential for further burials to be present.

“There is therefore the potential for the proposed works to impact on any surviving burials.

“As this area has been subject to ground works over the last 100 years, it is not certain what depth any burials will be located at.

Mr Davies also called for a “watching brief” to be in place during the installation of the sculpture.

He said: “The watching brief should monitor all excavations and observe and record the presence or absence of any burials and related features.

“Should burials be identified they may be in the way of the proposed works and as such may have to be moved.”

A Ministry of Justice burial licence would be required to exhume any bodies.

Mr Davies also called for any burials to be recorded and to be re-interred.

The sculpture, by artist Ro Robertson, has been developed specifically for the area as it was once the site of freshwater springs.

Until 1837, the sole source of water in the city were springs, wells and streams.

The area, currently occupied by a large planter, would have been used as a daily watering hole and place of healing.

Describing the work, a planning officer’s report said: “It comprises a series of interconnecting steel sections that rise and fall, joining to form an archway in the centre.”

It also includes public seating and raised flower beds.

The reports describes the sculpture as “highly detailed and visually interesting.”

The officer said: “It will provoke opinions and discussions, encourage footfall and thereby encourage the public to explore Wakefield’s historic centre in a visually engaging manner.”